How do I change the areas in my life that need to be changed?
Luke 5:32I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.
Luke 19:8-10Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!” Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
Acts 3:19Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.
You can change your life by repenting of your sins. This is the greatest change in your life you could ever make. A personal encounter with Jesus Christ begins with this most important change. You don’t need to feel ashamed about repenting—in fact, all people need to repent because everyone sins. Repentance simply means becoming aware of your sins, asking Jesus to forgive you, and then determining (like the tax collector Zacchaeus) to stay away from those sins, try to make things right, and move forward in obedience to God’s plan.
John 8:10-11Then Jesus . . . said to the [adulterous] woman, “. . . Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”
Romans 5:8God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
Have faith in God’s mercy and kindness. You do not change in order to receive God’s love—he showed his love for you by sending Christ to die while you were still a sinner. Instead, you change as you respond to God’s love in faith and repentance. God loves you in spite of your past—every day is your opportunity to “go and sin no more!”
Psalm 51:10Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.
Romans 12:2Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Ephesians 4:23-24Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
Colossians 3:10Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.
For real and dynamic change to occur in your life, God has to transform you, giving you a new way of thinking. Ask him to do that, and he will help you focus on what is true and good and right. Then you begin to see the new you with a new nature as a person who displays God’s good, holy, and true spirit. Be patient with yourself. Change is often a slow process.
2 Corinthians 5:17This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
Philippians 1:6I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
A great work takes a long time to complete. You become a believer the moment you accept Jesus, but the process of transformation into being like him takes a lifetime. Your new life has indeed begun, even though change often comes slowly and sometimes with setbacks. Remember that God’s work in you is relentless and certain. He will keep on working in you until the day you die or the day he returns.
Luke 18:13-14“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Pray. Prayer creates the atmosphere and opens the way for change to take place. Humbly talk to God—tell him your fears and worries. Confess to him when you know you’ve done wrong. Constant communication with God will help you experience change.
Psalm 1:2-3They delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.
Mark 4:20“And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
2 Timothy 3:16-17All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
The truth of God’s Word produces change in your life when you allow it to penetrate deep into your heart, plant it securely, and let it grow to produce a harvest of good thoughts and actions. Read God’s Word. Delight in it. Let it teach you, for it is how God will speak to you. It will show you how you need to change by teaching you what is true, correcting you, showing you when you’re doing wrong, and helping you to do right. It will prepare and equip you to serve God.
